Christy Clark officially throws her hat into the ring
Posted December 8, 2010 9:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – She’s officially in.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Christy Clark has announced her bid to lead the party she quit in 2004 to spend more time with her young family. Clark has worked as a talk show host in Vancouver since then, although she took a stab at municipal politics in 2005 when she ran unsuccessfully against Sam Sullivan for Vancouver’s Non-Partisan Association mayoral nomination.
Clark made it official this morning, but the BC Liberal party website jumped the gun yesterday, when it listed her as a candidate on its website. She brought her trademark charisma before a decidedly young crowd at the Segal School of Business in downtown Vancouver today.
Clark admits, “It’s reasonable to ask anyone who has spent ten years in public life, which is indisputably very, very difficult, and then spent four and a half years in private life, why they would go back.”
So, why is she running for office? Clark says, “Because I think it’s time for us to put power back in the hands of the people of British Columbia. I think it’s time for British Columbia’s government to be more open and responsive to the citizens of the province.”
As for the HST – something hated by many, yet such a source of revenue for the province – she proposes a truly free vote in the legislature, and then no revisiting the HST for another five years.
She says, “It’s time for a vibrant debate within our political party.”
Clark joins MLAs Kevin Falcon, George Abbott, Mike de Jong and Moira Stilwell in the race to replace Gordon Campbell, who stepped down as premier last month.
Liberal party members take part in a province-wide leadership vote on Februrary 26th.
